Vacuum preserving device



June 8,1926. 1,588,079

F. V. WINTERS VACUUM PRESERVING DEVICE Filed Sept. 29 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 wwwm June 8 1926 1,588,079

F. V. WINTERS VACUUM PRESERVING DEVI CE Filed Sept. 29 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 zillllljl illllllm 11 Patented June 8, 1926,

UNITED STATES c A A 1,5s8,07a PATENT oFFic-E,

EREnERIox v. WINTERS, OF NEW YORK, NZY,

VACUUM rREsERvINe DEVICE,

Application filed September 29, 1923. Serial No. 665,631.

This invention relates to vacuum preserving devices, and has forits object to -pro vide improved and simplifiedmeans for producing a partial vacuum in a jar of preserves in an economical and effective'mam ner. p I i Another object is to provide a jar for containing the preserves, said jar having smooth exterior walls and adaptedto bedetachably V.

secured within a socket member having smooth interior walls between which and v the jar a cup-shaped piston is adapted to be reciprocated for drawing out the air from the 'jar after which atmospheric pressure may be admitted to the piston for automatically seating a suitable cover on the ar to maintain the partial vacuum created therein. Said jar and the cover therefor are preferably made of glass, and the cover may be formed with a perforation normally closed by a sealing compound which can be easily punctured for admitting air to the jar when the same is to be opened Other objects will appear as the descrlptlon pro-. ceeds. y v

Thein'vention will be first hereinafter dee scribed in connection with the accompanying drawings, which constitute part of this specification, and then more specifically defined in the claims at the end of the description.

y In the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference, characters are used to des-V the air from the jar to form a partial vacuumtherein.

Figure? is aview similar to Figure 2 except that the air inlet valve in the piston is open, the cover of the jar closed, and the gasket around the lower edge of the piston is collapsed owing to' the entrance of air from the atmosph re int sa d piston;

5 "Figure 4 isia detailed elevation of the piston member.

Figure 5 is asection on the line V-Vof 1' Figure 1. p v v Figure 6 is abroken elevation of the jar with the cover'thereforremoved. s I

a bottom plan View of the Figure 7 is jar, and 1 socket member. 7

The socket inemberl has a base 2 which may be secured by "screws 3 or. other suitable means to a table, bench, or other suitable fixture, not shown. "Said socket member has smooth, cylindrical interior walls extending vertically up from the, base 2,'and a series of pe'rforations'4 are formed through said 'wallsa short distance above the base. Secured to the'base at thebottom of the socket are a plurality of spaced locking lugs 5 having roundedinward extensions 6 for detachably retaining a preserving jar 7f concentrically in the socket member, as illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 5.

Said 'jar 7 is'preferably made of glass and has smooth, cylindrical, external walls which are spaced concentrically from the interior walls of the socket vmember when said jar is arranged in the latter. An annular groove 8 'is formed in'the jar 7 near its 'bottomto fit the rounded projection 6' on the locking lugs 5 in the socket member, and notches 9' lead from the bottom of the jar into said groove 8 at? intervals corresponding to the location of said locking lugs Figure 8 is a broken elevationof the c so that said lugs, may be introduced into the groove through said notches when the jar is lowered into the socket'member. After said jar has been dropped down onto the baseof the socket member and the rounded extensions 6 of the locking lugs 5 have passed up through thenotches 9- intothe' vgroove 8, the jar is given a; partial turn to bring said :notches out of, alinement with said ,inwardprojections on the locking lugs,

thereby detachably fasteningthe jar in concentric' position in the socket member.

7 ,The top of-the' jar, is made substantially flat and is provided with a stepped central opening in which a correspondingly shaped cover 10, also ,preferably'made of 'glas's,may be fitted, a gasket or washer, 11being interfposed between the step portions of said vopening and cover 'foripreserving an air tight eiat'btweggttee, "said cover 'o a a central stepped perforation 12, and the larger upper portion thereof is filled with a sealing material 13 which is flush with the top of the cover and jar. fiaid sealing material is adapted to be punctured for admitting air to the whenthe cover is to be removed.

A cylindrical cup-shaped piston 14 is open at the bottom and has cylindrical walls adapted to be inserted between the 7 and socket member 1 when said parts are assembled, as shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 5. A gasket or packing ring 15 is suitably secured around the lower end of the piston and is preferably provided with a V-shaped groove 15 in its bottom face to facilitate the expansionandcontraction thereof when the device is in use. At the upper end of the piston there is a contracted neck portion 16 to which is'secured a handle 17 or other suitable operating means. A plug 1?; 1s fitted tightly in the neck 16 being retained therein by aset screw 19 or other suitable means. Ar'ubber bufier 20 is secured in the upper end of the piston ll to engage the top r the passage 21, see Figures 1 and 2. hen

said valve 23 is raised, as shown in Figure 3, air s admitted to the piston via port 24L extending to the valve seat through the plug 18 and neck 1 6of the piston, and through the passage 21.

In operation, the jar- 7, containing fruit or vegetables .to bepreserved, is inserted in the socket member 1 and fastened therein by means of locking lugs 5 already eX plained. The cover 10 is placed vonthe jar before or after the latter is adjusted in the socket memberand prior to the introduction of the piston '14; into the space between said jar and socket member. As said piston is pushed downto' the position indicated in Figure '1, the air below the gasket or packin'g'ring lfi is forced out through the perforations 1 in the socket member, and the air in said piston above the top. of the jar escapes through the passage 21 and port 24, the valve 23 being open. When the piston is fully 'depressed,'the valve 28 is closed, as shown in Figure 1, and the piston isthen raisedsubstantially to the position illustrated in Figure 2. During this raising of-the pistonair enters below the gasket Unpacking ring v15 through the perforations .4, butxasnoair can enter "the piston above said pack ng rmg,.the latter is expanded to h l 16 space between the walls of the ar 7 and socket member 1, asclearly shown in Figure 2.

The upward movement of the piston with its valve 23 closed, causes the cover 10 of the jar to rise and the air in said to be drawn out, thus forming a partial vacuum within the jar for preserving the contents thereof. After suflicient air has been drawn out of the jar in this way, the valve 23 is opened to admit air to the piston through the port 23 and passage 21 whereupon the cover 10 of the jar is immediately seated, as shown in Figure'3, so as to maintain the partial vacuum'which has been-thus formed in the jar. The atmospheric pressure on the top of the jar will press said cover firmly on its seat upon the gasket 11, and in order to remove said cover it will be necessary to puncturethe sealing material 13 and thus admitair intoxthe jar. As soon as air is admitted into the interior of the piston, the gasket or packing ring 15 contracts to normal position, so that said piston may be easily removed to permit the jar to be taken out'of' the socket member, and another the air with rawn therefrom in the same manner as already described. 7

Changes may be made in the details of construction herein shown, and described without departing from this invention. For.

instance, the piston 1 imaybe reciprocated by. any other suitable means as well as hand power, and a'plurality of the vacuum preserving devices may be arranged adjacent one another and all of them operatedby the same means.

It will be noted that, as shown in Figure 1, the buffer fits closely down over the top of thejar and its cover when the piston is at the lower end of its stroke, so that substantially all the air is expelled from between said buffer and the top of the jar before said piston is raised'for extracting the air from the interior of thejar. The top of the jar is preferably'made flat, as shown, and the cover, when closed, is preferably flush with said jar top, making a smooth, even surface against which the buffer presses when the piston 1s pushed all the way down. In ,case there should be any unevenness in the surfaces of the top of the jar and cover, the elasticity of the bulierwill permit it to conform thereto and accomplish the desired purpose, of excluding substantially all of the air from between said parts. If the irregularities in the top of the jar should be too great for the buffer to conform satisfactorily to them, the contour of the lower face of said 'bufi'er may be changed or modified as may be required. I claim;

1. The combination with a socket member adapted to reinovably hold a jarand its cover concentrically therein, ofmeans for detachably looking said jars in the socket member, a cup-shaped piston to be reciprocated between the jar and socket member for extracting air from said jar, a packingring carried by the lower edge of the piston for making an air tight connection between the jar and socket member, means for admitting air to the socket member below the piston, and means for admitting air to the piston for automatically seating the cover on the jar after the air has. been extracted therefrom. y

2. The combination with a socket member adapted to removably hold a jar and its cover concentrically therein, of means for detachably locking said jarin the socket member, a cup-shaped pistonto be reciprocated between the jar and socket member for extracting air from said jar, a packing ring carried by the lower edge of thepiston for making an air tight connection between the jar and socket member, said packing ring having an annular V-shaped groove in its bottom face, means for admitting air to the socket member below the piston, and means for admitting air to the piston for automatically seating the cover on the jar after the air has been extracted therefrom.

3; The combination with a socket member adapted to removably hold a jar and its cover concentrically therein, said jar having an annular groove and spaced notches leading to said groove, of locking lugs secured in the socket member toengage said groove in the jar through said notches tor detachably fastening said jar in the socket meming an air tight joint between the jar and socket member, and means for admitting air to the piston for automatically seating the cover on the jar after the air, has been extracted therefrom.

4. The combination with a socket member adapted to removably hold a jar and its cover concentrically therein, of a piston to be 'reciprocated between the jar and socket member for extracting air from the jar, a

packing ring carried by the lower end of the piston for makin an airtight joint between the jar and socket member, a bufier in the upper end of the piston to engage the top of the jar andits cover when said piston is at the end of its inward stroke, there being an air inlet passage leading through said buffer, and a valve for controlling said passage, whereby the inlet of air through the piston may be cut off while the air is being eX- tracted from the jar and the air may be admitted to said piston for automatically seating the cover on the jar after the air has been extracted therefrom. v

5. The combination with a socket member adapted to removably hold a jar and its cover therein, of a cup-shaped piston to fit over and around said jar, a gasket carried by the lower end of said piston and vfitting snugly around the exterior wall of the jar, a bufier of resilient materialin the upper end of said piston to conform substantially to the contour of the top, of the jar and cover for excluding air from between them when said piston is at the end of its downward stroke, means for reciprocating said piston for extracting air from the j ar, and means for ad mitting air to the piston for automatically seating the cover on the jar after the air has been withdrawn therefrom.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

' FREDERICK V. WINTERS. 

